Member Spotlight: Rosi Sellers

We had the pleasure of chatting with Rosi Sellers, a creative who hails from Harlem, the brains behind the creative community The Cool, and an expert in social media.

What have you learned from building a community for creatives of color at thecoolmag.com?

I learned that there are a lot of creatives that have similar experiences and visions as me. I also learned the importance of collaborating with others.

So, what do you think are some challenges that creatives face?

Fear

One challenge that creatives deal with is fear. Fear of rejection, fear of not knowing what’s next, fear of failing etc. The great thing about traditional careers is there’s usually some type of road map. For example if you wanted to become a lawyer, you graduate college then take your LSAT then off to Law School, or if you wanted to be a social worker you go to undergrad, and then grad school, then get licensed and so on. If you want to be a “Creative Strategist” or “Digital Content Creator” there’s no real step by step guide to achieve that so it becomes really scary being on the path to creating a life for yourself that’s not within the “norm”.

Compensation

Another challenge creatives face is when they find projects or gigs, they’re not always compensated properly or on time. Sometimes starting off you may work with smaller brands who have tighter budgets or more established brands who will pay you a lower wage for your lack of experience.

Rosi's Past Experiences

In my case, I’ve done a lot of freelance work and that can alway be tricky. One time I lightened my client load to take on a 6 month project for a food start up which ended up going out of business after only 2 months, leaving me to have to suddenly have go out and find more work. But it really helps to have a community of people around you can share their experiences with you and help navigate through these challenges. So in 2018, we’re really going put more energy into the resource and community engagement of The Cool.

Now, moving on to your experience with Social Media. What do you find most interesting about it?

The amount of research that truly goes into creating a high performance campaign. The brainstorming part is the most fun for me. I’m an over-thinker, like seriously, my brain is always on. So to have projects that encourage me using my imagination and that involves problem solving are always my favorite types of projects to work on.

How big of a role do you think Social Media will play in the future?

Social media will continue to help build brands and create influence. It’s going to be interesting to see what’s going to be the new “Instagram” or “Facebook”.

How does your personality align or help you with your role as a Social Media Specialist?

I think my love of storytelling helps me in my role as a social media specialist. I love thinking of new ways to connect brands with audiences.

Thank you so much for your time, Rosi! It is always inspiring to see someone so passionate in what they do, and eager to improve their community. Follow Rosi on Instagram to keep up with her adventures as a creative. Be sure to also Check out her Linkedin to know more about her experience and knowledge in the creative realm. Want to know more about the creatives that Rosi has interviewed? Go ahead and watch her series #CreativeFiles